Lab Meeting
by umbreonblue
Summary: If Hanasaki did go visit the lab ep. 13... and if Yamane left them alone.


Otomo and Yamane were silently waiting in the lab, tea in a flask, when Hanasaki opened the door. "You…showed up," Otomo states as he observes Hanasaki, who's looking down at the floor nervously.

"Hanasaki-senpai, are you alright?" Yamane asks in concern.

Hanasaki shakes his head and smiles, "I'm fine…"

"Un…," Yamane blinks before saying, "Don't make a mess you two! I won't clean it up this time!"

Otomo smiles as he takes out one of his inventions, a ball, and throws it towards Yamane. The ball produces a smokescreen, which covers Yamane, "Wah!"

Coughing, Yamane puts a hand to his mouth as the smoke clears. "Pffftt…." Hanasaki giggles. Yamane blinks, "What? What is it?"

Otomo puts a mirror in front of him, revealing Yamane's face covered in purplish-blue smudges.

Yamane yelps in shock then pouts at Otomo and a laughing Hanasaki. "I'm going to get cleaned up… I'll be right back," he shouts over his shoulder, "Play nice!"

Once Hanasaki calmed down, an awkward silence fills the room, neither of them saying anything until…

"It's been awhile since I heard you laugh like that," Otomo comments as Hanasaki sadly smiles.

"I haven't forgiven you, you know," Otomo says as he looks Hanasaki in the eye, seeing the frown appear on the other's face, "Neither has Inoue."

Hanasaki looks meekly down at the floor. Otomo sighs, "Trust is hard to earn back once it's gone."

Hanasaki nods, then asks, "Is it because I teamed up with Twenty Faces, or is it because I tried to kill myself?"

Otomo tilts his head, "Mmm… **Both**. I know you're not as much of an idiot as people assume you are. What I want to know is why."

Hanasaki sadly smiles at him, "Why what?"

Otomo clarifies, slightly angry "Why you teamed up with that masked bastard, and tried to kill yourself."

Hanasaki answers, "I felt… lost and alone. He manipulated me, brought out my worst fears and the worst parts of myself. I felt like I was replaceable, so I did what he asked for revenge. I realized I was just a toy to him when he tried to kill me, though. Then, he gave me a choice: either I die, or the others die. I felt so guilty, I wanted to end it all, so I tried to kill myself. Is that enough of an answer?"

Otomo was shock at what he said, then rubs the back of his neck, sighing, "I guess I can't blame you for that…Those feelings… have they been there the whole time? Were you faking that smile of yours the three years I've known you?"

Hanasaki nods his head, "Yes. I've been lonely for such a long time. I have problems feeling affection from people. My adopted father has never even once said that he loved me. Twenty Faces was the only one who gave me physical affection. But… sometimes I smile for real. Sometimes, it's not fake. The time we spent together wasn't all fake."

Otomo takes a minute to absorb the information then looks at Hanasaki, "And…how do you feel right now?"

Hanasaki takes a moment before responding, "Like I don't deserve to live…or belong anywhere," he starts to tear up, "I-I'm sorry…I shouldn't have come here after all!"

He tries to run away, but Otomo grabs his wrist, pulling him into a hug. It takes a moment of shock before Hanasaki reciprocates it, crying into Otomo's shirt. "I still haven't forgiven you…at least, not yet. For now, cry all you want. Just know that you're paying for my dry-cleaning."

Hanasaki sobs, saying, "I'm sorry," repeatedly until Otomo does something unexpected. He kisses his crying classmate on the lips, shocking him enough to stop the tears and blabbering.

Breaking the kiss, Hanasaki looks at Otomo with wide eyes, "Why did you…?"

Otomo touches Hanasaki's cheek, wiping some of the stray tears away, his other arm still wrapped around his waist, "Don't know. It just felt… Never mind. Forget it ever happened."

This made Hanasaki miffed, but feeling vulnerable, "Why?"

Otomo rubs the back of his neck again, groaning, "I don't want to take advantage of you when you're **this** vulnerable."

Hanasaki pouts, "But… it felt… **good**. **Right** even. I… want to do it again."

Otomo shakes his head, "I **can't**."

Hanasaki retorts, " **Yes**. **You can**! Just…think of it as an experiment. Please?" He uses the puppy-eyes.

Against those puppy-eyes, Otomo doesn't stand a chance. Sighing, he relents, 'For the sake of science,' is what he tells himself when giving Hanasaki another kiss on the lips, moving them experimentally, Hanasaki kissing back.

Breaking the kiss again, they both breathe, then look at each other, slightly flushed. Otomo pays attention to the blush on Hanasaki's cheeks, the red on his face making his sparkling blue eyes stand out.

'That's a good look for him. Very cute,' he thinks to himself in his daze.

"Kensuke…can I call you that?" Otomo asks, to which Hanasaki nods. "It'll take time until I can trust you again. Maybe even more for Inoue to trust you again."

Hanasaki nods, "I know…but, I'll work hard to earn it back," the he hugs Otomo once more.

Sighing, Otomo says, "I hope so… What about Kobayashi?"

Hanasaki answers, "I'll still keep my promise to him. I owe him that much," then, shyly, "Can I call you Hisa?"

Otomo blushes, "When it's just us…"

Hanasaki smiles, "Hisa-chan then."

"So…are we dating now, Hisa-chan?" Hanasaki asks the obvious. Otomo answers, rolling his eyes, "Yes, Ken. We're dating now."

"Should we keep this a secret from the others, or…?" Kensuke asks.

Otomo pets Kensuke's head, "They'll figure it out eventually. They **are** detectives, after all. But… It would be fun to mess with them until they can figure it out though."

Hanasaki smiles, giggling a bit, "Let's do that!"

Otomo smiles, and they kiss one more time before letting go, the both of them smiling, happy for the first time in weeks.

Unbeknownst to them, Yamane heard and saw everything from the door, not wanting to disturb such a romantic moment. He silently leaves, leaving a note that wished them good luck in their relationship, that they won't make too much trouble together…and that they won't make any more messes for him to clean up, but that's only wishful thinking on his part.


End file.
